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I hope you were able to attend one of our vision presentations or open house. If so, you heard that we are going to be focusing on “the root”. As we move to an adaptation of the Charlotte Mason philosophy one point of emphasis will be to keep our eyes fixed on Christ. Charlotte Mason calls that fixating on the root.

Obviously, as believers we know that “the root” is Jesus. What we sometimes lose sight of is the fact that without the crucifixion we would have nothing to believe in. Jesus would just be a nice guy in history who did some extraordinary things. However, once you become a believer the crucifixion takes on another level of importance.

I love what Oswald Chambers says about Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Chambers says, “Our Lord did not scathe sin; He came to save from it. We are apt to put the superb blessings of the Gospel as something for a special few; they are for sinners saved by grace.” This is a very humbling thought. The Gospel should make us uncomfortable because no Earthly individual would ever do something so crazy as what Jesus experienced in our places.

As we encounter Easter weekend I would encourage you to focus on these verses:

John 10:10 – I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 19:30 – Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

Luke 24:2-7 – And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not her, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”

This Easter, let’s all make sure to fix our eyes on Jesus, and keep ourselves strongly attached to the root.

One characteristic that marks the average Christian today is lack of expectation. When we pray we do not expect anything unusual to happen; consequently, nothing does. What we as Christians need today is a fresh spirit of anticipation – one that springs strong out of the promises and character of God. Where there is not such expectation, there is no true belief in God.”

– A.W. Tozer

I have spent a great deal of time evaluating what value RCA can provide in the Dayton area. It has become very clear through prayer, meeting with families and surveying people not associated with the school that there is a strong desire for an excellent Christian school in this community. Rhea County Academy can fulfill that desire. I believe God wants to use RCA in a huge way.

RCA has an opportunity to be a school this community has never seen before. A distinctively Christian, private school that focuses on relationships and strong academics. Parent support and involvement will be vital and wanted. RCA will be a strong educational option for Dayton and the surrounding community.

As we move into our new school facility in March it will be paramount that we make ourselves known. To assist with this process we are going to have a Community Wide Open House on Monday, March 25th from 5:00-8:00. People may pop in at whatever time is convenient. Anyone in the community is invited to attend and at 6:00 we will present a 3 and 6 year vision for RCA. We will be announcing other opportunities to tour the school or get involved soon so please stay tuned to our communication tools.

Above everything we can do as individuals to support and develop RCA, as believers we know that all things are possible with our God. I am committing to pray without ceasing that God will use RCA to do incredible things. As Tozer said in the quote, “Where there is no such expectation, there is no true belief in God.” I expect God is going to honor and bless RCA. I expect He is going to use us to do amazing things. I ask that you join us in that expectation, and that you commit to praying for the school, faculty, staff, board, and students every day.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy we know that you will get a wide range of responses from your children. All responses are valid. Some will not internalize or personalize the tragedy at all. Some will focus on it strongly and ask very difficult questions. No two children are alike so no two will respond in the exact same way. There is not an “appropriate” way for them to respond. It will change for every child based on age, spiritual maturity, awareness of the situation and ability to process information.

It is our hope to come alongside you in this process. Listed at the bottom of this email are links to some helpful sites that explore a number of questions you may receive. The first link explains ways you can help your child understand the tragedy regardless of their age. Some of these resources are Christian and some are secular. The fact that they are secular does not diminish their value in knowledge. I have learned a great deal in researching how to answer all the different questions we may receive.

Obviously, God does not give us a spirit of fear. However, a former mentor of mine used to always say, “Be gentle as lambs, and wise as serpents.” God gives us knowledge of tragedies like this to make us aware that evil does exist in the world, and that we must take appropriate precautions. I want all of you to know that I will be meeting with the school board to discuss what security measures we can put in place in our new building. Again, this is not in a spirit of fear, but rather in doing our due diligence to run the best school we can possibly be. Once we have met and discussed what things we can put in place I will communicate to all of you what steps will be taken.

Another issue I would like to address is one I have already heard spoken publicly by several Christian news sources. As a body of believers it is our responsibility to help non-believers understand why God would allow this to happen. There is a link below for Reasons for Hope. It is an excellent site that, I believe, answers this question very well. Last night I heard someone on T.V. make the statement that the reason God allowed this to happen was because He had been removed from schools. This is completely untrue and not in the slightest Biblical. God does not smite children. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. God’s desire is always to restore the broken. Please help fight the religious groups in the public who are spewing hate and gossip by remaining in the truth of the gospel. What an awesome thing we have the opportunity to model for our children. Again, I encourage you to read the link below addressing this issue.

I hope that you will all join me in praying for the families, faculty, staff and town surrounding Sandy Hook. As a parent and an educator I can not imagine the grief and mourning they are experiencing. We would love to help your families in any way that we can. If you have a child struggling with this tragedy please do not hesitate to ask for help. Thank you for the opportunity to impact your children and your families every day. It is not something we take lightly. Thank you for being a part of the RCA family!

The Warrior’s Journal is the official blog of Rhea County Academy. The blog will be updated at least once weekly, and every Monday the week’s announcements will be posted at the end of the blog post. Rhea County Academy is a private, K4-12 Christian school in Dayton, Tennessee. Check back with us for all the latest news. Go Warriors!